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United States Patent |
5,623,787
|
Ali
|
April 29, 1997
|
Tile roof valley guard
Abstract
A resilient mesh elongated guard for the valley between adjoining angled
sections of a tile roof wherein the guard is bent into a convex shape and
positioned into the valley with the lateral edges of the guard engaging
the sides of the opposed faces of the tile.
Inventors:
|
Ali; Elsayed A. (903 Highview Dr., Palm Harbor, FL 34683-6616)
|
Appl. No.:
|
583722 |
Filed:
|
January 5, 1996 |
Current U.S. Class: |
52/13; 52/12; 210/474 |
Intern'l Class: |
E04D 013/00 |
Field of Search: |
52/12,13,14,15
210/162,474,477
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
669495 | Mar., 1901 | Babcock | 210/474.
|
678995 | Jul., 1901 | Carnes | 52/13.
|
2988226 | Jun., 1961 | Cambell | 210/477.
|
3079000 | Feb., 1963 | Volsi | 210/477.
|
3507396 | Apr., 1970 | Homa | 210/477.
|
4553356 | Nov., 1985 | Pepper | 52/11.
|
4592174 | Jun., 1986 | Hileman | 210/474.
|
4750300 | Jun., 1988 | Winger, Jr. | 52/12.
|
4905427 | Mar., 1990 | McPhalen | 210/474.
|
4949514 | Aug., 1990 | Weller | 210/474.
|
5072551 | Dec., 1991 | Manoogian, Jr.
| |
5095666 | Mar., 1992 | Williams, Jr.
| |
5103601 | Apr., 1992 | Hunt | 210/474.
|
5109640 | May., 1992 | Creson.
| |
5181350 | Jan., 1993 | Meckstroth.
| |
5242591 | Sep., 1993 | Beechert et al. | 210/477.
|
Foreign Patent Documents |
36850 | Nov., 1926 | DK | 52/13.
|
591711 | Apr., 1994 | EP | 52/11.
|
1509127 | Aug., 1969 | DE | 52/12.
|
3505498 | Aug., 1986 | DE | 52/11.
|
3838919 | May., 1989 | DE | 52/11.
|
122354 | May., 1991 | JP | 52/11.
|
23080 | ., 1892 | GB | 52/13.
|
Other References
"Gutter Screen Said to Eliminate Drain Problems", American Roof Jul. 1949.
"Gutter Guard Prevents Back-Ups", American Roofer, p. 60 Feb. 1961.
|
Primary Examiner: Friedman; Carl D.
Assistant Examiner: Saladino; Laura A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Shall; Harold D.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A tile roof valley guard comprising in combination
a) a slanted roof having adjoining sections interconnected at an angle
thereby forming a valley therebetween,
b) said roof including a layer of sheeting, a layer of subroofing material
on top of said sheeting and extending over said valley, and a layer of
tiles on top of said layer of sub roofing material on the adjoining roof
sections and terminating at the edge of the valley whereby said tiles of
one roof section are spaced from and opposed to said tiles of the other
roof section, and said opposed faces of said opposed tiles of said
adjoining roof sections are formed parallel to each other, and
c) an elongated strip of resilient material having a great plurality of
openings therein bent into a convex shape when viewed in transverse cross
section with the lateral edges of said strip resiliently engaging the
entire opposed edges of said tiles adjacent to the sides of said valley
with said engagement being substantially from the bottom to the top of
said tiles.
2. A valley guard according to claim 1 wherein said resilient material is
of mesh configuration.
3. A valley guard according to claim 2 wherein said resilient material is a
co-polymer plastic.
4. A valley guard according to claim 3 wherein the convex shape of said
resilient material, when viewed in cross section, is an inverted "U" with
the legs of the "U" substantially parallel.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices to prevent water from
collecting in the valley of a slanted roof and more particularly to a tile
roof valley guard which will inhibit the collection of debris in the roof
valley.
The way a tile roof is constructed, the valley which interconnects
adjoining angled roof sections of a slanted roof does not have a layer of
tile over the tar paper sub roof. According to Bob Hightower Senior, "who
has spent 41 years in the roofing industry and is chairman of the Pinellas
County Construction Licensing Board's roofing committee" in Pinellas
County, Fla., "leaks occur because the sub roof dries out and cracks with
age--leaks are most likely to occur in valleys where standing water
accelerates rotting" (quoted from the St. Petersburg, Times, Nov. 9, 1995
issue at page 2D). Standing water occurs in the roof valleys when debris
accumulates in the valley and forms a dam behind which standing rain water
accumulates and once there is a slight opening in the sub roof of the
valley, a leak occurs.
Repair of the roof and replacement of the valley must be done to remedy the
situation. However, prevention of the dam forming debris from accumulating
will inhibit collection of standing water.
To prevent such an accumulation, an obvious solution is to repeatedly clean
the valley to remove debris and thereby prevent formation of a dam. This
is the prior art method of cleaning valleys. An unobvious yet more
practical solution is to provide a device which prevents debris from
entering the valley so that it cannot accumulate and form a dam.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a guard to prevent
debris from entering a roof valley of a tile roof so that it cannot
accumulate and form a dam.
It is another object of this invention to provide such a guard which is
easily installed on existing as well as new roofs.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a guard which,
while preventing debris from entering the roof valley, will allow rain
water to flow therepast into the valley and down the valley and off the
roof.
To accomplish the above objects, this invention contemplates a guard made
of a flexible resilient plastic which is screen-like in its configuration
and when secured against the roof titles adjoining the valley in a convex
cross section configuration, will prevent debris from entering the valley
and forming a dam but will allow rain water (or for that matter water from
other sources) to pass therethrough and into the valley and down the
valley and off of the roof. Another advantage is that such a guard is
easily removed and replaced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a tile roof with a roof valley
guard according to this invention situated in the roof valley;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2--2 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a piece of the material usable in this invention;
and
FIG. 4 is another embodiment of a piece of material usable in this
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, a hip portion of tile roof is shown
generally at 10 and includes a left section 12 and a right section 14
disposed at an angle to each other and joined by a valley 16. The sections
12 and 14 have a layer of roof sheeting 18 conventionally made of plywood
supported by the roof rafters (not shown). On top of the sheeting 18 is
sub roof 20 made of strips of tar paper with the adjoining edges of the
strips conventionally sealed with a layer of tar. The sub roof 20 extends
over the valley 16 connecting the adjoining roof sections 12 and 14. The
roof sections 12 and 14 have an exposed upper surface of tile 22 thereon,
with the tiles in conventional over lapping relationship; however, as
conventional construction practice dictates, the valley itself is not
covered with tile.
As seen in FIG. 2, the tile on sections 12 and 14 terminate at the edge of
the valley 16 and are in an opposed relationship. The edges of the tile
which face each other are cut so as to be parallel to each other. The
approximate width of the space between the tiles is approximately two
inches, and the approximate thickness of the tile is approximately two
inches. A guard 24 made of an elongated strip of resilient material
approximately six inches wide having a great plurality of openings therein
such as a mesh material with an open edge as seen at 26 in FIG. 3 or guard
24A with a closed edge as seen at 28 in FIG. 4, is bent in a convex
arcuate configuration and inserted over the valley 16 with its lateral
edges engaged with the inner sides of the opposed tiles of the roof
sections 12 and 14, so that the guard 24 has an inverted "U" shape
configuration with side legs 21 and 23 being substantially parallel and
abutting the adjoining tiles of roof section 12 and 14 and the upper
arcuate portion 25 of the guard 24 being substantially level with the top
of the adjoining tiles.
The guard 24 is made from a material having a great plurality of openings
therein and having inherent resilient qualities such as resilient
co-polymer plastic strips sold as "Gutter Guard" by the Home Products
Division of ALUMAX and available from Home Depot in Pinellas County, Fla.
Because of the inherent resilient qualities of the strip 24, it need not
be secured in the valley 16, as merely flexing the strip and inserting
same between the tiles 22 of the adjoining sections 12 and 14, at the base
of the tiles, will retain the guard 24 in a secure relationship with the
sections 12 and 14 over the valley 16. With the guard 24 in place over the
valley 16, debris is prevented from entering and accumulating in the
valley 16, while water may so enter and run down the valley and off the
roof.
Although the above description relates to presently preferred embodiments,
numerous changes can be made therein without departing from the scope of
this invention as claimed in the following claims.
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